Planting Seeds in Prison: Rehabilitation by Gardening
A few weeks ago we had the chance to spend the day with Paul Bruns, founder of Hlumelelisa, a non-profit that works with prison inmates to train them in horticulture and gardening as a way to contribute to their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. The need to heal and renew the spirit underpins the principles of Hlumelelisa, and is reflected in its name which is the Nguni word for "a new spirit". The initiative, a 10-month program, embraces permaculture principles, focusing on water management and seed conservation for a
Gardening Yoga & happy farming in South Africa
The first challenge of volunteering on a farm in a country you are not familiar with is getting there. As we were headed to Happy Toes Farm in Groot Marico, South Africa, we took the bus from Johannesburg and almost ended up in Botswana! Somehow we got off at the right gas-station-in-the-middle-of-nowhere and Jeannine, the farm and volunteer manager, was there to pick us up. Happy Toes stands on a piece of land of roughly 3 hectares, and when the owner - mysterious ex DJ Byron who was unfortunately away during
Gorillas in Rwanda
Our last stop in East Africa, after Kenya and Uganda was Rwanda. We flew in to Kigali early on Friday morning and hung out at the “Ikirezi Bookshop” – a fantastic spot full of great books (note: just as some people have a soft spot for handbags or shoes, my Achilles heel is books) and with a café serving delicious smoothies with a metallic reusable straw no less! After enjoying this book lovers’ paradise, we feasted at the Italian restaurant Brachetto before finally hitting the road and heading